News On The Horizon 3/23/2014

Winderman's view: Heat 91, Grizzlies 86--South Florida Sun Sentinel

-- Birdman added a needed spark in the third period after the Heat went down 12.

-- As did the dual-point backcourt of Chalmers and Norris Cole.

Heat can't discount draft--South Florida Sun Sentinel

Since Dwyane Wade came aboard with the No. 5 pick in 2003, it can be argued that the Heat's best draft pick was a player they dealt away on draft night (Marcus Thornton) and arguably their best draft-night acquisition (Patrick Beverley) was a player who never wore the team's uniform during the regular season (although perhaps that designation should go to two-time-champion Norris Cole).

Cleveland State's last shot fails, and the Vikings fall, 64-62, to Ohio University--Cleveland Plain Dealer
ESPN Outside the Lines show 'The first Cinderella' looks at ex-Cleveland State coach Kevin Mackey--Cleveland Plain Dealer

Eight up-transfers who will impact the NCAA tournament--CollegeBasketballTalk

Jason Calliste and Joseph Young, Oregon-via-Detroit and Houston

Joseph Young is a scorer, and that was evident from the first moments he took the court for the Ducks, but the ultimate surprise of all these up-transfers is Calliste. The ex-Detroit guard was a good shooter in the Horizon League, but Calliste’s accuracy has completely transformed in Euegene. He is leading the nation in true shooting percentage, and several of his offensive statistics rank within the top percentile for KenPom.com. While occupying a similar percentage of shots attempted as he did in Detroit, Calliste is converting more than 50 percent of his threes.

Is No. 7 Oregon heading for another surprise NCAA Tournament run?--CollegeBasketballTalk

With reserves like Cook stepping up for Moser and solid guard play from Joseph Young, Jason Calliste, Johnathan Loyd and Dominic Artis, the Ducks are confident heading into Saturday’s game against Wisconsin.

Cook schools Cougs--The Register-Guard

Cook also regained the nickname his teammates gave him earlier this season.

“He’s our X factor,” senior guard Jason Calliste said. “He’s why we won this game.”
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Calliste and Amardi are just the latest in a line of Ducks who have raved about Cook’s athleticism and potential, and he showed off both of those qualities against the Cougars. What the Ducks see in practice was on display for the nation.
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Joseph Young added 19 points as the Ducks (24-9) shot 50 percent from the field despite making just 2-of-13 three-pointers. Cook helped Oregon get a season-high 49 points from its bench, and Calliste added 14 points. Amardi had five points and eight rebounds.
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BYU (23-12), a No. 10 seed, led only when Tyler Haws opened the game with a jumper before the Ducks ran off the next six points. They built their lead to 39-24 on two free throws by Calliste with 3:07 left in the first half before the Cougars scored the final seven points of the half to get within 39-31 at the break.
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“We knew they’d go on a run, that is a good offensive team,” Calliste said. “We had to weather the storm, stick to our principles. We tightened up a bit on defense.”
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Oregon followed with a 22-6 run starting with Cook’s three-point play which marked the first of eight straight possessions when the Ducks scored. Calliste made two free throws and a three-pointer to give Oregon a 78-59 lead with 6:38 left in the game.

Oregon, Wisconsin present intriguing contrast in styles--The Register-Guard

Jason Calliste and Mike Moser both had NCAA Tournament experience but had not been part of a tournament victory before arriving at Oregon.

Calliste’s sophomore year at Detroit ended with a 65-50 loss to second-seeded Kansas in the opening round of the NCAA Tournament. Calliste was 1-for-6 from the field, missed all four three-point attempts and scored three points in the loss.

Two years later, Calliste had 14 points and four assists to help Oregon defeat BYU 87-68 on Thursday afternoon at the Bradley Center.

“I wanted to get that bad taste out of my mouth,” Calliste said. “I finally did it.”
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“Me and Jason kept saying to each other throughout this game, ‘We need this one’,” Moser said. “It makes it easy to forget the losses we had. It is desperation at its finest.”

Calliste and Moser were motivated by not wanting their college careers to end without a win in March Madness.

“I would never get another chance at it,” Calliste said. “It’s satisfying, but I am not satisfied so on to the next one.”

Former Detroit Mercy player Jason Calliste made right call at Oregon--The Detroit Free Press

Pat Birt Featured in RedEye's March Madness Edition--uicflames.com

Flames face No. 1 EMU in tourney semifinals Monday--UIC News
Flames Play in WBI Quarterfinals at No. 1 Eastern Michigan--uicflames.com

Video: Top 5 Dunks 2013-2014--Phear The Phoenix
Green Bay's Memorable 2013-14 Season in the Books--GreenBayPhoenix.com

Peaks and Valleys--The Mid-Majority

There were four games at the First Niagara Center, and I needed Dayton, Western Michigan, Saint Joseph’s, or Milwaukee to win one of them because my very existence depended on it. Because if all four failed - and all four would enter as underdogs - there would be no TMM games here for the second day, Saturday. And although I’ve eaten plenty of complimentary food over the course of the season, I’m no freeloader. If we didn’t have a dog or a hawk or a bronco in the hunt, I wasn’t hanging around.
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Anyway, from my selfish perspective, things were still ascending, Dayton would play Syracuse, and if Saint Joseph’s or Milwaukee could win, I would still have two games to watch.
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Milwaukee led for much of the first half in the finale, and with some better shooting could have given Villanova a run, but it ended up like most 2 vs 15 NCAA games finish, 73-53 for the higher seed.

NCAA Game Analysis: Second Round, Thursday Evening--Rush The Court

#2 Villanova vs. #15 Milwaukee – East Region Second Round (at Buffalo, NY) – 9:25 PM ET on TBS

These two teams enter the NCAA tournament on considerably different notes. Second seeded Villanova blew its chance for a one seed by losing to Seton Hall in the Big East quarterfinals while Milwaukee salvaged a 7-9 regular season with four consecutive wins in the Horizon League tournament. In fact, three of the Panthers’ wins in that event came away from home with two being true road games. It was a special March run for a team that otherwise would have been an afterthought. If Villanova is to right the ship and get back to playing good team basketball as it has for most of the year, the Wildcats have to do a better job on the perimeter. Villanova’s Achilles heel all year long has been three point defense, significantly exposed in all four of its losses to aforementioned Seton Hall (42 percent), Creighton (60 percent in each of two losses) and Syracuse (54 percent). While Milwaukee is not a great three point shooting team, Rob Jeter’s squad attempts just over 21 threes per game. If they get hot, the Wildcats could have a tougher game than they might expect. Jordan Aaron was phenomenal in the Horizon tournament and is fully capable of putting the Panthers on his back. Austin Arians is also another deep threat for Milwaukee. The bad news for the Panthers is getting hot from three is probably their only chance of pulling this one off. Milwaukee is not very efficient on either end of the floor and it would take its best game, combined with a sloppy game from the Wildcats, in order for Jeter’s team to win. While Milwaukee is a respectable opponent, Villanova has been too good all year long to slip up here.

The RTC Certified Pick: Villanova.

Rushed Reactions: #2 Villanova 73, #15 Milwaukee 53--Rush The Court
NCAA Tournament Tidbits: 03.21.14 Edition--Rush The Court

East Region
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Villanova started slow, but UW-Milwaukee proved to be no problem for the Wildcats behind Darrun Hilliard’s 16 points.

No. 2 Villanova overcomes off-night to beat No. 15 Milwaukee--CollegeBasketballTalk
Late Night Snacks: Tournament-record four overtime games on Thursday--CollegeBasketballTalk

NOTABLES
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East Region No. 2 Villanova didn’t get off to the best of starts against No. 15 Milwaukee, but the Wildcats woke up in the second half to beat the Panthers 73-53 in Buffalo. The Wildcats will face former Big East foe UConn Saturday.

Day 3 Open Thread + Picking The Lines--Basketball Predictions

Villanova (-16.5) over Milwaukee: Milwaukee is a "happy to be here" team. They were 7-9 in Horizon League play and below the conference average in both offensive and defensive efficiency. The only way they cover this spread is if Villanova, as a team that relies heavily on threes, goes ice cold.

Crazy Thursday in NCAA tourney, and it's just the beginning--Eye On College Basketball

19: That's the number of 3-pointers Villanova missed in its 73-53 win over Wisconsin-Milwaukee. The Wildcats were 0 for 11 from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes and finished 4 of 23. Still, they cruised -- mostly because they were 24 of 39 on 2-pointers.

Game Preview: (2) Villanova vs. (15) Milwaukee--Big East Coast Bias
2014 NCAA Tournament results and bracket: Final score for Milwaukee vs. Villanova 73-53--VU Hoops
Final Score: (2) Villanova 73, (15) Milwaukee 53--Big East Coast Bias
Game blog: Villanova 73, UWM 53--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Panthers' dream fades in second half--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
An awful night for UWM's Jordan Aaron--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Panthers game report: Thursday at a glance--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
An Unbelievable Experience: Panthers Fall in NCAA Tournament--UWM Post
UWM Seniors Lead Their Team to the Big Dance--UWM Post
Behind Enemy Lines: VUHoops.com Q&A--PantherU
Milwaukee faces Villanova in NCAA Tournament--PantherU
Milwaukee’s season comes to an end--PantherU
No. 15-Seeded Milwaukee Pounded by No. 2-Seeded Villanova 73-53 in NCAA Tournament--UWM Update
Milwaukee bows out to Villanova 73-53 in NCAA tourney--uwmpanthers.com
Panthers' Run Comes To A Close In Loss To Villanova--uwmpanthers.com

2014 CollegeInsider.com Tournament: Ohio vs. Wright State Preview, TV Listings, Streaming, Odds & More--Hustle Belt
2014 CollegeInsider.com Tournament Ohio vs. Wright State Recap: Bobcats 56, Raiders 54--Hustle Belt
Raiders hope to continue roll at OU--Dayton Daily News
Men Fall Short at Ohio--wsuraiders.com

Notre Dame Region Recaps: Top seeds perform and Cowgirls survive OT--Swish Appeal

#3 Kentucky Wildcats 106, #14 Wright State Raiders 60

MVP: DeNesha Stallworth was just a dominating force in the post today. She finished with 11 points, nine rebounds and blocked five shots as the Wildcats led 51-25 at halftime and continued to pour it on in the second half to show why they are a 3-seed.

Bench was big... 56 points from the reserves for the Wildcats and that could prove to be a really big confidence boost going forward in the tournament. If you can get that production from any bench, you're going to win a lot of games. Jennifer O'Neill scored 21 off the bench for Kentucky.

It was over win... After Wright State tried to climb back into the game, cut it to 34-22. The Wildcats would close the first half on a 17-3 run and never look back, pushing the lead doubling the point production of the Raiders.

WSU’s Elkins smiles through the pain--Dayton Daily News
WSU women say no reason to be nervous--Dayton Daily News
Dream season ends for WSU--Dayton Daily News
Women’s Basketball: Wildcats’ size, depth proves too strong for Raiders--The Guardian
Women’s Basketball Notebook: James among three seniors who play for final time--The Guardian
Women Fall to #10/11 Kentucky in NCAA First Round--wsuraiders.com

Panthers' Run Ends in NCAA Tournament--Horizon League Network
Wright State's Season Ends at Ohio--Horizon League Network

Wright State Ready for NCAA Tournament Debut--Horizon League Network
Raiders Fall to Kentucky in NCAA First Round Game--Horizon League Network